Read Online The Fifth City by Liz Delton - Free Book Online

allow Miss Stoughton to stay.”
    Neve’s stomach dropped to her feet.  Where was she to go?
    “Can’t I do the Trials too?” Neve protested.
    “I’m sorry my dear,” the Lady shook her head, but showed no remorse.  “But permitting even one outsider to partake in the Trials is allowance enough.  It has never been done before.”
    Lady Naomi turned and sat back on her throne, and Neve saw the glint of something silver tucked inside the woman’s ear.
    Neve’s heart was racing.  What was she to do?  Leave, alone?
    Sylvia turned to Neve, and quickly pulled her out of the direct hearing of Oliver and Lady Naomi.
    “Listen Neve, I need to do this, I need to see if I can pass their test, and get help.  Go to Meadowcity—it’ll be two or three days north of here—and tell them what’s happened.  Please, can you do this for me?”
    Neve nodded woodenly.  Of course she would.  It was only the beginning to make up for what she had done.  She would go out in the wilds alone.
    “You’ll be fine in the woods, just watch out for the Scouts, alright?  They could still be near the shore, or on their way back north.  You’ll be okay.”
    Neve’s eyes began to swim.  Couldn’t she stop these infernal tears?
    Sylvia suddenly pinched her, and she all but yelped.
    “Stop it,” the young Rider chastised, surprising Neve.  “You couldn’t have known what Greyling was going to do with those explosives.”
    Neve jerked her head.
    “I don’t fault you for it, and you shouldn’t either.  Just—go—you’re good on the trail.”
    “It was an accident,” Neve whispered suddenly, needing Sylvia to know.  “And they heard about what it did, and asked us to remake it.  I didn’t know—” she choked out, refusing to look over at Lady Blackwater, who was probably listening.
    Sylvia shocked her by pulling her into a hug.
    “You be careful out there.”
    “And you be careful here,” Neve replied.
    They broke apart, and Neve saw that another man had appeared, that greasy-haired man who had dragged her from the dark cell she had woken in.  This was it.
    She shared one last look with Sylvia, whose ferocity emanated from her very expression.  The Rider would be alright.
    The man cocked his head at Neve, and she followed him out of the hall.  It was the start of a journey for which she could not foresee the outcome—and for once, that exhilarated her.
    And she didn’t know which terrified her more.

 
    Twelve
     
    The man called Oliver led Sylvia through the castle down its long, white corridors, which were lit by fascinating panels of pure light that made up the ceiling.  There were no windows, and Sylvia couldn’t even tell if they were underground.  Oliver led her down a beautiful stone staircase to another level.  Simple wooden doors carved with neat lines graced a few of the white walls, and she was sure she would be unable to find her way back the way she came—each corridor was identical to the last.  She took solace in the fact that at least her headache was starting to subside.
    Lady Blackwater had already tested her by sending Neve away, alone.  But the Lightcity girl had more skill than she credited herself for—what she lacked was confidence.
    Neve will be alright, Sylvia assured herself, trying to will the words into becoming truth.
    It was herself that she was more worried about; she could already tell Lady Naomi was a ruthless, cunning and intelligent woman, who seemed to know about many things she shouldn’t—or couldn’t.   And the Trials that faced Sylvia could be more complex than she imagined.  There was something very strange about this place.
    At last, Oliver stopped in front of a wooden door, indistinguishable from the rest, and Sylvia wondered how he could possibly tell them all apart.  He opened it and led her inside.

 
    “You’ll be staying in these rooms, Miss Thorne.  You’ll find everything you need here,” he swept his arm out invitingly as she ventured